INTRODUCTION: Bladder pain syndrome (BPS) is poorly understood, however there is evidence of a female predominance and co-morbidity with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). Here we test the hypothesis that linaclotide, a guanylate cyclase-C (GC-C) agonist approved for the treatment of IBS with constipation (IBS-C), may represent a novel therapeutic for BPS acting through a mechanism involving an inhibition of visceral organ cross sensitization. METHODS: In female rats, infusion of dilute protamine sulfate (PS) into the bladder was employed to induce bladder and colonic hypersensitivity...

OBJECTIVE: Introduction: Currently, the diagnosis of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is only based on clinical symptoms without clear interpretation and can be interpreted differently, complicating the diagnosis. Therefore, to study features of the prevalence and the course of IBS in patients with excessive body weight / obesity is of particular significance nowadays. The aim of the research is to evaluate the prevalence and the course of IBS in patients with obesity. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Materials and methods: Observation results for 120 obese persons who underwent in-patient treatment at various hospital departments in Western Ukraine have been analyzed to evaluate the prevalence of IBS...

Background: Alosetron is approved to treat women with severe IBS and diarrhea (IBS-D) who have failed standard therapy. In our study, we aimed to evaluate alosetron efficacy using new US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) endpoints and utilization in clinical practice. Methods: This prospective, open-label, multicenter, observational 12-week study evaluated women with severe IBS-D enrolled in the alosetron prescribing program. The coprimary FDA endpoints were changes from baseline in stool consistency and abdominal pain severity...

Objective: Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a chronic functional disorder of the gastrointestinal tract that causes abdominal pain or discomfort and alters bowel with no organic abnormalities. Treatment options for IBS have increased in number in the past decade, and clinicians should not be limited to use only conventional treatments to cure it. This article is a placebo-controlled clinical trial to assess the therapeutic effects of low-dose bismuth subcitrate on symptoms and the health-related quality of life in adult patients with IBS...

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), a common functional gastrointestinal disorder, is classified according to bowel habits as IBS with constipation (IBS-C), with diarrhea (IBS-D), with alternating constipation and diarrhea (IBS-M), and unsubtyped (IBS-U). The mechanisms leading to the different IBS forms are mostly unknown. This study aims to evaluate whether specific fecal bacterial taxa and/or short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) can be used to distinguish IBS subtypes and are relevant for explaining the clinical differences between IBS sub-categories...

The 2017 annual symposium organized by the University Medical Center Groningen in The Netherlands focused on the role of the gut microbiome in human health and disease. Experts from academia and industry examined interactions of prebiotics, probiotics, or vitamins with the gut microbiome in health and disease, the development of the microbiome in early-life and the role of the microbiome on the gut-brain axis. The gut microbiota changes dramatically during pregnancy and intrinsic factors (such as stress), in addition to extrinsic factors (such as diet, and drugs) influence the composition and activity of the gut microbiome throughout life...

BACKGROUND: Linaclotide is a minimally absorbed peptide guanylate cyclase-C agonist approved for the treatment of irritable bowel syndrome with constipation (IBS-C). This study assessed the efficacy and tolerability of linaclotide in IBS-C in routine clinical practice in Germany. METHODS: This was a 52-week, noninterventional study of linaclotide in patients aged ≥ 18 years with moderate to severe IBS-C. Severity of abdominal pain and bloating and frequency of bowel movements were assessed over 5 study visits...

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Zyactinase® is an extract of green kiwifruit, formulated into the consumer healthcare products marketed as Phloe® and Kivia, used to assist in the relief of the symptoms associated with a range of digestive system dysfunction, including constipation and Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS). METHODS AND STUDY DESIGN: A randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial was undertaken to determine the ef-fects of the kiwifruit extract on bowel movement, stool formation and IBS associated symptoms amongst a sub-ject group of generally healthy individuals experiencing a period of moderate constipation...

BACKGROUND: Sex and subtype differences within patients with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) complicate the understanding of disorder pathogenesis and hinder the design of efficacious, therapeutic interventions. OBJECTIVES: The aims of this study were to harness the power of shotgun proteomic analysis, identify circulating proteins that differentiate African American female patients with IBS from healthy controls (HC), and gain biological insight on symptomatology...

BACKGROUND: Joint hypermobility syndrome (JHS) is characterized by excessive connective tissue laxity manifest as joint hypermobility (JH) together with musculoskeletal symptoms. Previous studies have shown an association between JH/JHS and gastrointestinal symptoms, including irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), although its association with specific IBS subtypes is incompletely understood. We aimed to determine the prevalence of JH according to the subtypes of IBS, in particular IBS-C and IBS-D...

BACKGROUND: constipation-predominant irritable bowel syndrome (C-IBS) is a prevalent, complex and multifactorial disorder that represents a challenge in terms of diagnosis and therapeutic management. OBJECTIVE: to evaluate the effectiveness, safety and treatment satisfaction of linaclotide in C-IBS patients. METHODS: prospective, single-center and observational study conducted in patients diagnosed with C-IBS. The patients were treated with linaclotide (Constella®, Allergan Inc...

BACKGROUNDS: The intestinal microbiota is considered as a potential common underpinning pathophysiology of Functional Gastrointestinal Disorders (FGIDs) and psychiatric disorders such as depression and anxiety. Fecal Microbiota Transplantation (FMT) has been reported to have therapeutic effects on diseases related to dysbiosis, but few studies have evaluated its effect on psychiatric symptoms. METHODS: We followed 17 patients with either Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), Functional Diarrhea (FDr) or Functional Constipation (FC) who underwent FMT for the treatment of gastrointestinal symptoms and observation of psychiatric symptoms...

INTRODUCTION: Proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) have been associated with small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO), which increases with prolonged PPI use, and SIBO has been associated with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). OBJECTIVE: The aim of the present study was to study the prevalence of bowel symptoms in patients treated with PPIs in Mexico. METHODS: Gastroenterologists in 36 cities surveyed patients treated with PPIs, utilizing an ad hoc questionnaire to determine the presence of bowel symptoms and IBS...

BACKGROUND & AIMS: Genetic factors are believed to affect risk for irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), but there have been no sufficiently powered and adequately sized studies. To identify DNA variants associated with IBS risk, we performed a genome-wide association study (GWAS) of the large UK Biobank population-based cohort, which includes genotype and health data from 500,000 participants. METHODS: We studied 7,287,191 high-quality single-nucleotide polymorphisms in individuals who self-reported a doctor's diagnosis of IBS (cases; m=9576) compared to the remainder of the cohort (controls; n=336,499) (mean age of study subjects, 40-69 years)...

Background/Aims: We evaluated the distribution of lower and upper gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms among individuals with irritable bowel syndrome with constipation (IBS-C) and chronic idiopathic constipation (CIC) in a nationwide survey. Methods: Individuals (≥ 18 years of age) were identified from a nationwide sample of ＞ 70 000 United States adults. Participants completed the National Institutes of Health GI Patient Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (NIH GI-PROMIS) questionnaire...

BACKGROUND: There is a certain number of subjects that consider themselves to be constipated (self diagnosed constipation; SDC). The Rome Criteria separate FC from IBS-C, but some SDC patients do not meet the Rome criteria (no Rome Constipation; NRC). Our aims were to evaluate the percentage of SDC subjects with a diagnosis of FC and IBS-C and to compare demographic and clinical features, symptoms, and quality of life in the different SDC groups (FC, IBS-C, NRC). METHODS: During a 2-month period, 934 patients and 980 accompanying persons (AP) were asked to complete a survey...

OBJECTIVES: Two identical, phase 3, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trials evaluated the efficacy and safety of plecanatide in patients with irritable bowel syndrome with constipation (IBS-C). METHODS: Adults meeting Rome III criteria for IBS-C were randomized (1:1:1) to placebo or plecanatide (3 or 6 mg) for 12 weeks. The primary efficacy end point was the percentage of overall responders (patients reporting ≥30% reduction from baseline in worst abdominal pain plus an increase of ≥1 complete spontaneous bowel movement (CSBM)/week from baseline in the same week for ≥6 of 12 treatment weeks)...